Market adoption of wireless LAN (WLAN) technology has exploded, as users from a wide range of backgrounds and vertical industries have brought this technology into their homes, offices, and increasingly into the public air space. This inflection point has highlighted not only the limitations of earlier generation systems, but also the changing role that WLAN technology now plays in people's work and lifestyles, across the globe. Indeed, WLANs are rapidly changing from convenience networks to business-critical networks. Increasingly users are depending on WLANs to improve the timeliness and productivity of their communications and applications, and in doing so, require greater visibility, security, management, and performance from their networks.
In package delivery systems, a WLAN may include a personal area network (PAN) to monitor physical packages (e.g., mail or goods) as packages travel from one location to another. A PAN is a short-range (e.g., within 10 meters) wireless network, which may be a part of a WLAN, and is used for communication among wireless clients (e.g., notebook computers, personal assistant devices, sensor nodes, etc.). A wireless client typically includes an application for selecting and joining a network such as a PAN. While the package is on route, PANs along the route facilitate in tracking the package by tracking a sensor node that is attached to the package. More specifically, as the package travels from one PAN to another, the sensor node on the package associates and disassociates with particular wireless access points in each PAN. While a package is associated with a given PAN, the PAN infrastructure tracks the package by reading information that is stored in the sensor node. Such information may be, for example, information about the sensor node and information about the package.
In accordance with the IEEE 802.15.4 specification, a sensor node can perform active or passive scanning to associate with wireless access points in a given PAN. During active scanning, the sensor node sends out a probe request frame, requesting wireless access points to respond. The surrounding wireless access points that can allow an additional sensor node to join, respond to the request. The sensor node chooses one network to join from the list. During passive scanning, the sensor node receives surrounding beacon frames that wireless access points broadcast, and responds to one of the beacon frames in order to join the PAN. With either passive or active scanning, the sensor node ultimately determines which PAN to join.
This situation may not be desirable when a sensor node is moving between overlapping areas of network coverage, and it is desired that the sensor node move from one network to another specified network. In addition, for various reasons, it may be desirable to have the sensor node skip certain associations and join only specific networks. In addition, problems may exist when a sensor node may associate with the wrong, or an undesired, PAN (e.g., an unauthorized or rogue PAN, or a PAN outside of a given administrative domain, etc.). An incorrect association may occur for, example, if the package carrying the sensor node is misrouted or moves into an area that is covered to by two different PANs. If the sensor node stores any sensitive information, an unauthorized or rogue PAN infrastructure may intercept the sensitive information.
In light of the foregoing, a need in the art exists for methods, apparatuses, and systems that address the foregoing problems and that effectively manage access of sensor nodes in wireless networks. Embodiments of the present invention substantially fulfill this need.